Automatic membership in social networks via mobile and point-of-sale computing device

ABSTRACT

A social networking website system with automatic registration based on a current location information. Individuals are automatically enrolled into social network services based on a current location determined from their mobile devices. In addition, users can automatically gain registration and access to local information and social networks when their mobile device interacts with a server via a point-of-sale computing device. User interactions can be adhoc in nature, employing audio messages, or audio and video messages. In general, automatic memberships to social networks, social groups and to discussion lists are provided to users, based on user&#39;s current location.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present patent application is a continuation of, claims priority to,and makes reference to U.S. non-provisional patent Ser. No. 15/279,431,entitled “AUTOMATIC MEMBERSHIP IN SOCIAL NETWORKS BASED ON CURRENTLOCATION INFORMATION”, filed 29 Sep. 2016, which in turn is acontinuation of, claims priority to, and makes reference to U.S.non-provisional patent Ser. No. 14/971,786, entitled “SOCIAL NETWORKINGWEBSITE SYSTEM WITH AUTOMATIC PARTICIPATION BASED ON CURRENT LOCATIONINFORMATION”, filed Dec. 16, 2015, which in turn is a continuation of,claims priority to, and makes reference to U.S. non-provisional patentSer. No. 12/386,924, entitled “SOCIAL NETWORKING WEBSITE SYSTEM WITHAUTOMATIC REGISTRATION BASED ON LOCATION INFORMATION”, filed Apr. 24,2009, which in turn is a continuation-in-part (CIP) of, claims priorityto, and makes reference to U.S. non-provisional patent Ser. No.12/221,876, entitled “MOBILE DEVICE FOR ACCESS TO AGRICULTURAL SERVICESBY NON-LITERATE AND SEMI-LITERATE USERS”, filed on Aug. 6, 2008, whichissued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,909,210 on Dec. 9, 2014. The complete subjectmatter of the each of the above-referenced United States patentapplications is hereby incorporated herein by reference, in theirrespective entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to a social networks andparticularly to a solution wherein a user can automatically register andsubscribe to one or more social networks based on his current location.

2. Related Art

Mobile devices are becoming ubiquitous. Children carry them and so doadults. Most people working in customer facing industries use mobilephones to stay in touch with their customers and take phone callsthroughout the day. Unfortunately, quite a few users of mobile phonesare intimidated by technology or technically challenged, and cannoteffectively use the mobile devices to solve their problems. For suchpeople, mobile phones are useful only for voice calls. All thosepowerful applications on their mobile devices are beyond theircapability. This is a major problem not adequately addressed by creatorsof mobile applications.

Social networks are a useful means to interact with other like-mindedindividuals. They are popular with the youth and with technically savvyindividuals who can work on computers. However, quite a fewnon-technical people are incapable of mastering the use of computers andare therefore unable to participate in such social networks. Thus,despite the growing number of computer users, millions of people stillcannot participate on social networks. Some individuals who have accessto a computer are still unable to master the skills required todiscover, subscribe to, effectively register with and start using thesocial networks.

Social networks are often accessed from computers over the Internet.Sites such as Facebook and MySpace are quite popular. A user with accessto a computer can open an account with these social networks, provide adetailed profile, and then participate in interacting with others.However, very few of the people in the world, especially those in thirdworld countries have access to computers. Those that have computers donot have access to the Internet. Among those that have both a computerand access to Internet, a significant number of these do not know how toenroll in or use the social networks. Thus, access to these socialnetworks is unavailable to a significant number of people, or iscomplicated.

Quite a few technology-challenged individuals would like to manipulatethe tiny keyboards on mobile phones and access remote servers and manageinteractions with remote applications. Unfortunately, the small keys onthe keyboard, the small screens of these mobile phones, the inability toread those screens, especially outdoors in the sun, etc. make them usethe mobile phones only for voice calls, even when these phones arehigh-end phones with complex operating systems. Thus, despite theavailability of a powerful operating system and applications on themobile phones, a significant number of users only use them for voicecalls. Thus these applications go unused. There is a need to betterdesign these applications so that they are more useable by non-technicaland technology-challenged people. There is also a need to createapplications that do not rely upon (or that minimize) the use ofkeyboards on these mobile phones.

Mobile phones are currently being sold to farmers and rural users inthird world countries. Unfortunately, very few of these can read orspeak in English. Most mobile phones do not provide applications thatare customized to these languages. Often, within a geographical region,several different languages are spoken. Mobile operators do not supportall of those local languages. Thus, screens of information provided tousers or prompts for user input are often presented in the wrong andincomprehensible languages to these rural users.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditionalapproaches will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the artthrough comparison of such systems with various aspects of the presentinvention.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to apparatus and methods of operationthat are further described in the following Brief Description of theDrawings, the Detailed Description of the Invention, and the claims.Other features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description of the invention madewith reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective block diagram of a social networking websitesystem that is capable of automatically registering mobile device usersinto one or more social networks and social groups based on a currentlocation determined by their corresponding mobile devices.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of an exemplary operation of the socialnetworking website system, built in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective block diagram of a social group basedinteraction system wherein a mobile device user automatically getsregistered with one or more social groups based on a locationinformation provided by the mobile device, or based on user setup, suchas during a first time use.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an exemplary operation of a social group basedinteraction system that determines a current location of a mobile deviceand automatically assigns social groups to a user.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention provides an elegant means of interaction betweennon-technical and technology-challenged individuals who employ mobiledevices, wherein the individuals are automatically enrolled into socialnetwork services based on a current location determined from theirmobile devices. In particular, farmers in rural places can be enrolledinto social networks in their local districts, and they can interactwith others using audio and video messages employing their locallanguages. For example, such interaction can be adhoc in nature,employing audio messages, or audio and video messages. In general,automatic memberships to social networks, associated social groups, andto discussion lists are provided to users, such as those based on user'scurrent location.

FIG. 1 is a perspective block diagram of a social networking websitesystem 105 that is capable of automatically registering mobile device107, 157 users into one or more social networks and social groups basedon a current location determined by their corresponding mobile devices107, 157. A plurality of social networks are supported by the socialnetworking website system 105, each of the plurality of social networksalso form a social group for one-to-many interactions, such as postingof messages. The networking website system 105 comprises a server 113that supports social networks and social groups, and mobile devices 107,157 used by users to interact with the social networks and socialgroups. The server 113 comprises a registration management component191, a content repository 187, a social networks manager 189, a socialgroups/discussion lists manager 193, a posting manager 177, a membershiplisting module 179 and a database 115.

The database 115 comprises an automatic registrations module 181, alocation to language mapping module 183 and a location to socialnetworks mapping module 185. The automatic registrations module 181 isused to store and keep track of user registrations conductedautomatically, such as those conducted during an initial power-up of themobile phone 107. A default user profile is also stored including ageographical information (such as street, city, state, etc.) andregional language setting. The location to language mapping module 183is employed to determine the default language for the user based on thelocation information. The location to social networks mapping module 185is used to determine all appropriate social networks and associatedsocial groups in which the user can participate and interact with. Thedatabase 115 comprises customized user profiles, user accountinformation, user preferences and other related information too.

The posting manager 177 facilitates posting of new messages by users,collection/collation of responses to postings, retrieval of postings andresponses from mobile devices 107, 157, etc. The social group/discussionlists manager 193 facilitate communicating postings to the entire socialgroups or discussion lists. They also facilitate determination ofappropriate social networks, social groups, and discussion lists for auser based on a current location information, such as during initialpower-up of the mobile device 107 by a user. The social networks manager189 facilitates interactions between members of a social network. Italso manages life-cycles of social networks, such as creation, deletion,enhancements, addition of applications and widgets, updates, etc. Themembership listing module 179 facilitates enumeration of membershiplists for the social networks, the social groups, the discussion lists,etc. It also manages interactions with external systems to retrievemembership lists from external social networks or listserv servers.

The content repository module 187 makes it possible to store content,manage content, include them in posting, and broadcast content via oneor more social networks and one or more social groups. Content is storedin the content repository 187 until they are broadcast or otherwiseshared with one or more users, such as by posting to a social group.Some types of content is communicated by the social networking websitesystem 105 to members of social groups periodically while some othertypes are delivered only when instructed by a user. Some types ofcontent that are delivered more than once, or periodically, are alsoupdated when necessary, such as when a new version of such content ismade available. Content that has to be delivered periodically, such asmarket prices of commodities, to members of a social group are deliveredin a push mode by the server 113.

The mobile device 107 comprises a client 121 that receives postedmessages for one or more social networks and social groups and displaysthem, a processing circuitry 125 the executes applications such as theclient 121, a memory 123, an audio input/output circuitry 129 and acamera circuitry 127. A user can employ the client to interact with thesocial networking website system 105. Specifically, the user can postnew messages using the client 121, wherein such new messages comprise anaudio message recorded using the audio input/output circuitry 129 and adigital photo taken employing the camera circuitry 127. The new messagesare communicated to social networks selected by the user (from thosemade available to the user or subscribed to by the user) or to socialgroups to which the user has registered, etc. The user can alsocommunicate the new messages to individual members of the socialnetworks. Using the client 121, the user of the mobile device 107 canreview messages posted to social networks, and provide responses to suchmessages employing audio data recorded by the user on the mobile device107, video data recorded by the user, or a combination thereof etc.

The present invention automatically enrolls mobile phone users intosocial network services that focuses on building online communities ofpeople who share their interests and/or activities. These social networkservices, supported by the social networking website system 105 aremobile-phone based and also web-based, and provide a variety of ways forusers to interact, such as via adhoc audio messages sent from one personto many recipients, and instant messaging services. These socialnetworking services encourage registered members to experience new waysto communicate and share information. The social networking servicesincluded are those which contain category divisions (such as ricefarmers in Tamil Nadu, or Vanilla growers in Karnataka), means toconnect with colleagues and business partners (employing audio and videodescription pages) and personal recommendations of other members.

Registered users of social networks supported by the server 113 canupload a picture of themselves from their mobile devices 107, 157,create their ‘profile’ with audio descriptions of themselves and theirinterests, and can often be “friends” with other users. To be includedin a friends list for a user, both users must confirm that they arefriends before they are linked. These social networks are provided withprivacy controls that allow the user to choose who can view theirprofile or contact them, etc.

The present invention not only makes it possible for users toautomatically register with one or more social networks (supported bythe server 113, or by other external servers too) based on a currentlocation obtained from the mobile devices 107, 157, but also providesthem the ability to set up and customize a personal ‘profile’. It alsopresents users with an ability to comment on topics of interest andspecify fine granular control of who sees what (based on privacysettings). It makes it possible to block an unwanted member, have ownpage of personal (blog like) entries with audio messages, videomessages, etc.

In addition to registering automatically in discussion lists and socialnetworks, users of mobile devices 107, 157 have the ability to createtheir own social groups that share common interests or affiliations.Users can upload or stream live videos, and hold discussions in thesegroups and associated social networks. Thus user participation isarranged around geographic location, the typical/default business andsocial interest of people in such geographical regions, and theirattributes.

In one embodiment, the social networks and associated social groupssupport mobility and access from mobile devices 107, 157. Thus thesemobile social networks enable users of mobile devices 107, 157 to createtheir own profiles, make friends, participate in discussion lists, chatrooms, etc. Such users can also conduct private conversations, sharephotos and videos, and share blogs by using their mobile device 107,157.

In general, the social networks supported by the server 113 also act associal groups to which members can post messages and use it as adiscussion list. Using the social networks, users can post groupmessages to the social group associated with the social networks,wherein the group messages are viewed by other participants of thesocial group on their respective mobile devices. In addition, thesemessages can also be read on the social network's group homepage,provided by the server 113, like a web forum. Members of a socialnetwork can choose whether to receive individual posts once daily, or assoon as they are posted. Members can also read the posts at the web sitesupported by the server 113.

As well as providing posting and archiving facilities for the manysocial networks and associated social groups it hosts, the socialnetworking website system 105 provides additional functions, such asmobile voting and calendar systems and file uploading. The basic mailinglist functionality is available to post messages to other members of asocial group.

In one embodiment, the server 113 supports social networks that addressthe needs of agribusinesses and farmers and the mobile device 107 isused by a farmer in a rural/agricultural region, such as Dekalb, Ill.The client 121 in the mobile device 107 is tailored to address the needsof farmers to provide access to agricultural information and to interactwith agricultural related social networks supported by the server 113.When the use of the mobile device 107 powers up the mobile device 107,the client 121 determines a current location (GPS based current locationor cell ID based current location) and communicates it to the server113, along with the phone number associated with the mobile device 107.The server 113 employs the social networks manager 189 to determine ifthe user of the mobile device 107 is already registered as a user. Ifthe user is already registered, then the social networks he isregistered in, and the social groups he is registered in are determined,and this information is sent to the mobile device 107 for display to theuser (such as for user selection of a social group to post a message).If the user is not yet registered, then the server 113 employs the autoregistration manager 171 to register the user as a new subscriber. Thenew user's details are registered in the automatic registrations module181. Then, the location change manager 175 employs the location tosocial network mapping module 185, to identify one or more socialnetworks and their associated social groups for the user andcommunicates it to the mobile device 107. For example, social networksfor “corn farmers from Illinois” and “soya bean farmers from Dekalb” areidentified as default social networks for the user, and their associatedsocial groups are also provided as default social groups with whom theuser can interact with, and post messages. The automatic registrationsmodule 181 in the database 115 is updated with this registrationinformation for the user of the mobile device 107. Also, the languagemanager 173 employs the location to language mapping module 183 toidentify a default language for the user (based on the current locationand known information about that region) and this information is alsocommunicated to the mobile device 107. The server 113 presentsuser-interface components to the mobile device 107 in the defaultlanguage for the user when necessary, in this way, the new user of themobile device 107 is automatically registered in one or more socialnetworks and social groups. Using the client 121, the user views thelisted social networks and social groups on the mobile device 107. Theusers then post new messages or interact with others in the one or moresocial networks he is automatically registered in.

When the new user of the mobile device 107 starts posting new messagesto the social groups he is made a member of, the posting manager 177facilitates broadcasting such posts to all the members of thecorresponding social groups. The new messages may comprise of audiorecorded by the user on the mobile device 107, video recorded by theuser, textual content input by the user on the mobile device 107, acombination of these, etc. The new messages are not only broadcast toall members of the targeted social groups, such that they receive as newpostings on their respective mobile devices, but also stored in thecorresponding social network as the user's post and shared with othersin the social network.

In one embodiment, a social network a new user of the mobile device 107is assigned to by the server 351 comprises social network connections toindividuals who provide support, help and add value to the socialnetwork. For example, when a farmer in Dekalb, Ill., is automaticallyregistered to a “corn farmers of Dekalb, Ill.” social network, he isautomatically provided connections/links to local seed providers(companies that provide corn seed for example), local fertilizerdistributors, local silo/warehousing companies, local banks that lend tofarmers, local farmer cooperatives, experts in growing corn and cornrelated agricultural experts, experts in pesticides and insecticides,local exporters of corn, local corn processing plants, etc. In addition,the social group to which the farmer can broadcast his messages/postingto comprises local experts in corn farming, agricultural universityprofessors in a local university, members of the local governmentaddressing farming issues, etc. Content providers for such a socialnetwork include corn seed providers, corn trading companies who canprovide corn prices from the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) or theChicago Commodities Exchange, etc. Such content providers employ thecontent provider server 371 to deliver content, and the content providermanager 359 manages such delivery and schedules their broadcast torelevant social groups, and the availability of such content to relevantsocial networks.

The client 121 displays available social networks and a list ofavailable social groups. The user can post to the social groups and viewmemberships of the social networks and interact with individual membersof the social networks. For example, if a social network comprises linksto an expert in a field, the client 121 makes it possible to interactwith him, send him messages, seek help, etc. If the social network has alink to an agent of a local hank, the client can seek loan information,seek balance information, etc. If the social network has a link to aservice, such as a banking service, the client enables conducting backtransactions from the mobile device 107.

In one embodiment, the social networking website system 105 enablesautomatic modification of membership to social networks when a usermoves to a new city or relocates to a new state. The server 113selectively changes the membership of each of the plurality of users ofthe social networking website system 105 to their corresponding socialnetworks when the user's mobile device indicates a change in its currentlocation. Thus, after a move to a new state, the user finds himselfautomatically registered with a new social network (one or more socialnetworks) with access to local information, resources, local experts,local services (banking, library, etc.). This change can be madepermanent by the user, or made temporary. In a related embodiment, ifthe user returns to his previous location (city/state/region), the userregains his membership with the old set of social networks and socialgroups automatically.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of an exemplary operation of the socialnetworking website system 105, built in accordance with the presentinvention. At a start block 205, the operation starts when the server113 is ready for receiving registration requests and for supportingsocial network interactions. Then, at a next block 207, the mobiledevice 107, when turned on for the first time, or when instructed by auser to do so, registers automatically with the server 113. During suchregistration, server 113 identifies appropriate social networks andassociated social groups for the user based on a location informationretrieved from the mobile device 107, user input provided by user (orfrom alternate sources), etc. The social networks includeconnections/links to others who can provide help, expertise, access toresources, access to information, etc. For example, for a farmer inDekalb, Ill., who powers up his mobile device 107 for the first time, asocial network called “corn farmers of Dekalb Ill.” is provided bydefault, and registration into that social network, and to an associatedsocial group “corn farmers group of Dekalb, Ill.”, is conductedautomatically. Alternately, the registrations are conducted at apoint-of-sale by a sales agent employing a PC (for example) thatcommunicates with the server 113. The social networks providesconnection to agents of local banks that lends to farmers, agents oflocal insurance companies, local experts in farming, localmeteorologists, local seed providers, local contract labor, etc.

Then, at a next block 209, the mobile device 107 receives postedmessages from the social networks and social groups that the user isregistered with. In the case of social groups, messages posted by anymember of the social groups are visible to and shared with all themembers of those social groups. In the case of social networks, amessage posted by the user to an individual member of his social networkis not shared with others, but only with those recipients selected, andis posted on the corresponding user's web pages on those socialnetworks.

Then, at a next block 211, the user creates a new posting and sends itto the social group currently selected. Such new posting comprises audioinputs recorded by the mobile device 107, video recorded by the mobiledevice 107, textual inputs provided by the user on the mobile device107, etc. Since the target social network is typically already selectedbefore the creation of the posting, the user need not select anyrecipients and is not prompted to enter any recipients. Then, at a nextblock 213, the new posting is broadcast to the selected social networkor social group. This occurs when the mobile device 107 communicates thecurrently selected social network identification and the new posting tothe server 113 for broadcast to all the current members of the socialgroup or social network. The members of the social group or socialnetwork who receive the new posting review it and optionally respond toit with their own responses, wherein the responses comprise audio, videoand textual inputs from them. Later, at a next block 215, the user whosent the new posting is able to receive and review responses if any. Theresponses are received from one or more responders, each response is inaudio form, video form, as digital photo, as a textual input or acombination of these.

Subsequently, at next block 217, the server 113 monitors the currentlocation for the user, and adjusts his membership to the social networksand social groups. For example, if the user moves to a new city orstate, he is automatically registered into new social networks andsocial groups that are more relevant to people resident in or visitingthose regions. Again, if the user wants to retain membership in socialnetworks and social groups he was a member of before moving, he is giventhe opportunity to retain such membership. For example, the user isprompted to retain membership in current social networks and socialgroups when the server 113 detects that he has moved to a new city orstate.

Then, at a next end lock 225, the operation terminates.

Some prior art solutions allow a first user about to navigate using amap to a particular address, or to a historical landmark, famousrestaurant, etc. However, these navigational devices, or relatedsystems, do not help in creating property evaluations that can be storedand later shared with a user of a second device. Thus, the presentinvention provides features useful for the creation of propertyevaluations that are communicated from the first user's mobile device toa database for subsequent sharing with the second user's mobile device.

FIG. 3 is a perspective block diagram of a social group basedinteraction system 305 wherein a mobile device user automatically getsregistered with one or more social groups based on a locationinformation provided by the mobile device 307, or based on user setup,such as during a first time use. The location information is a cellidentification of a mobile network determined by the mobile device 307,a GPS coordinates determined by the mobile device, etc. The social groupbased interaction system 305 comprises the mobile device 307, the server351 and a content provider server 371. The server 351 comprises aposting engine 357 that facilitates broadcasting of new posting andresponses to old posting by members of social groups managed by theserver 351, and a content provider manager 359 that receives contentfrom a content provider server 371 and communicates it periodically orotherwise to social groups, such as a free social group A 361 and thepaid social group B 363. The server 351 also comprises one or moresocial groups, such as the free social group A 361 and the paid socialgroup B 363. It also comprises a social group registration manager 353,a subscriber database 355, a language selection module 365 and areporting engine 367.

The social group registration manager 353 is capable of mapping andassigning new users, based on a location information or otherinformation, to one or more social groups supported by the server 351.For example, it can assign, based on a GPS coordinates of a currentlocation of (the user of) the mobile device 307, the free social group A361 to the user. Later, if the user so prefers, he can also registerwith and subscribe to the paid social group B 363. The languageselection module 365 assigns a primary and a secondary language forcontent and user interaction screens to be presented to the user on themobile device 307, for interactions with and posting messages to thesocial groups provided by the server 351.

The subscriber database 355 is used to store and manage registrationinformation (to one or more social groups, etc.), subscriber profiles,subscriber preferences, access rights, registration renewal information,etc. It is automatically managed based on subscriber activities andinput on the mobile device 307. It is also managed by administrators forsocial groups, etc.

The posting delivery engine 357 manages delivery of new posts\andresponses to old posts to all the members of various social groups. Thelanguage selection module 365 assigns default language for users basedon their current location and known information regarding primary andsecondary languages (available in the subscriber database 355) for thatgeographical region. It also enables modifications to language settingsfor specific users or to entire social groups, etc.

The reporting engine 367 enables generation of periodic and adhocreports regarding access to social groups by one or more registeredusers, etc. It enables generation of reports regarding popularity ofvarious types of content that is pushed/delivered to the registeredusers.

A client 373 in the mobile device facilitates user interactions with theserver 351 and with social groups it supports. A location determinationclient 381 in the mobile device provides a current location informationto the client 373, such as during initial power up and registration withthe server 351. The client 373 makes it possible to create audiomessages, video messages, textual messages, and combinations of these,and have them sent as postings, or as responses to other postings.

One of the types of content that the content provider 371 provides issolutions to problems expressed by registered subscribers. For example,if a user of the mobile device 307 expressed a need for informationregarding the eradication of a particular type of bacteria/disease fromhis farm, then the content provided to the user as a response, from amember of the social group or by a moderator or content providerassociated with that social group is detailed information on pesticides,detailed information on food treatment techniques, etc. Thus, some ofthe social groups are assigned moderator accounts (members who aremoderators), technical assistance accounts (members who providetechnical information, etc.) and expert accounts (members deemed to beexperts on the related subject matter for the social group). In oneembodiment, the content provider 371 interacts with members of socialgroups just as another member of that group—participating in new postswherein new content is sent to the other members of the social groups.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an exemplary operation of a social group basedinteraction system 305 that determines a current location of a mobiledevice and automatically assigns social groups to a user. At a startblock 405, the operation starts when the server 351 gets ready tointeract with the mobile devices 307. Then, at a next block 407, themobile device 307 determines location using GPS circuitry on the mobiledevice 307, or using a cellular identification (cell ID) determinationmechanism. Mobile devices 307 that comprise GPS circuitry provide GPScoordinates when needed, to get the current location. Those that do nothave GPS circuitry provide a cell ID for the current location. Othermechanisms to determine a current location are also contemplated.

At a next block 409, the location information is communicated to theserver 351. Along with the location information, the mobile phone numberof the mobile device 307 is communicated to the server. Optionally,device characteristics are also communicated. Then, at a next block 411,the server 351 maps the location information to appropriate socialgroups that the user can participate in by default. For example, for afarmer in Dekalb, Ill., who powers up his mobile device 307 for thefirst time, a social group “corn farmers group of Dekalb, Ill.”, isconsidered appropriate. In some related embodiments addressing the needsof farmers, based on the current location information, the new user isprovided membership into more than one social group, such as socialgroups for the three top crops grown in the region (three differentgroups), a social group for agricultural experts of the region, and asocial group for agribusinesses in that region.

Then, at a next block 413, the server 351 conducts registrations withappropriate social groups selected based on the location informationreceived from the client 373 of the mobile device 307. For example, fora farmer in Dekalb, Ill., who powers up his mobile device 307 for thefirst time, registration to an social group “corn farmers group ofDekalb, Ill.”, is conducted automatically. Alternately, theregistrations are conducted at a point-of-sale by a sales agentemploying a PC (for example) that communicates with the server 351. Thesocial groups include agents of local banks that lends to farmers,agents of local insurance companies, local experts in farming, localmeteorologists, local seed providers, local contract labor, etc. Thusthe social group makes it possible for the new user (the farmer inDekalb, Ill.) to automatically gain access to, and be able tocommunicate with others in the region with whom he can choose tointeract with, conduct business with, seek help from, seek informationfrom, etc.

At a next block 415, the client 373 of the mobile device 307 receives alist of appropriate social groups from the server 351 and displays it toa user. Then, at a next block 417, the user selects one of theappropriate social groups from the list, and the server 351 retrievesthe posts for that social group and communicates it to the mobile device307. The user views the list of available postings, and is able toselect and review any of those listed. The user can also respond to anyof those postings. The user typically browses through the list provided,and reviews one or more posts.

At a next block 419, the user records a new message on the mobile device307 comprising an audio input from the user, a video input from the userand posts it to the currently selected social group. The new message isassembled on the mobile device using the client 373, which employs alocal microphone for recording audio inputs, a local camera forrecording video, and a local keyboard for textual data entry by theuser. The new message posted is then shared with other members of thesocial group using the broadcast services of the server 351. Thus, othermembers of the social group can review this new message on their mobiledevices, and respond back to the user.

At a next block 421, the client 373 of the mobile device 307 receivesresponses on the selected social group and makes them available forreview by the user. The responses can each comprise of a textualcomponent, an audio component, a video component, a graphic, or acombination thereof.

Then, at a next end block 431, the operation terminates.

As one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, the terms “operablycoupled” and “communicatively coupled,” as may be used herein, includedirect coupling and indirect coupling via another component, element,circuit, or module where, for indirect coupling, the interveningcomponent, element, circuit, or module does not modify the informationof a signal but may adjust its current level, voltage level, and/orpower level. As one of ordinary skill in the art will also appreciate,inferred coupling (i.e., where one element is coupled to another elementby inference) includes direct and indirect coupling between two elementsin the same manner as “operably coupled” and “communicatively coupled.”

Although the present invention has been described in terms of GPScoordinates/and navigational information communication involving mobilephones and computers, it must be clear that the present invention alsoapplies to other types of devices including mobile devices, laptops witha browser, a hand held device such as a PDA, a television, aset-top-box, a media center at home, robots, robotic devices, vehiclescapable of navigation, and a computer communicatively coupled to thenetwork.

Although the present invention has been described in terms of socialnetworks and social groups, it must be clear that the present inventionalso applies to other types of online and mobile communities such asdiscussion lists, email lists, etc.

The present invention has also been described above with the aid ofmethod steps illustrating the performance of specified functions andrelationships thereof. The boundaries and sequence of these functionalbuilding blocks and method steps have been arbitrarily defined hereinfor convenience of description. Alternate boundaries and sequences canbe defined so long as the specified functions and relationships areappropriately performed. Any such alternate boundaries or sequences arethus within the scope and spirit of the claimed invention.

The present invention has been described above with the aid offunctional building blocks illustrating the performance of certainsignificant functions. The boundaries of these functional buildingblocks have been arbitrarily defined for convenience of description.Alternate boundaries could be defined as long as the certain significantfunctions are appropriately performed. Similarly, flow diagram blocksmay also have been arbitrarily defined herein to illustrate certainsignificant functionality. To the extent used, the flow diagram blockboundaries and sequence could have been defined otherwise and stillperform the certain significant functionality. Such alternatedefinitions of both functional building blocks and flow diagram blocksand sequences are thus within the scope and spirit of the claimedinvention.

One of average skill in the art will also recognize that the functionalbuilding blocks, and other illustrative blocks, modules and componentsherein, can be implemented as illustrated or by discrete components,application specific integrated circuits, processors executingappropriate software and the like or any combination thereof.

Moreover, although described in detail for purposes of clarity andunderstanding by way of the aforementioned embodiments, the presentinvention is not limited to such embodiments. It will be obvious to oneof average skill in the art that various changes and modifications maybe practiced within the spirit and scope of the invention, as limitedonly by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A social networking website system that supportsuser interactions in a plurality of social networks, the socialnetworking website system comprising: a server with an automaticregistration manager that, based on a current location information frompeople, automatically builds online communities of people who sharetheir interests and activities; the automatic registration managerautomatically registering and including a new user in a social networkbased on the current location information of the new user's mobiledevice; the server providing solutions to problems expressed by the newuser based on his current location; and a location change manager in theserver, upon automatic determination of a new location for the new user:automatically provides access to relevant social networks comprisingexperts associated with a job performed, and interests expressed by thenew user; automatically provides access to social networks of localbusinesses anticipated to be of interest to the new user; andautomatically incorporates into the new user's own page all personalentries comprising audio messages, video messages provided by the newuser.
 2. The social networking website system of claim 1 wherein theserver monitors the current location information of the new user andprovides a list of appropriate social groups to the new user based onthe new user's current location; and the server also provides automaticaccess to local information, resources, local experts, real estateproperty evaluations, and local services.
 3. The social networkingwebsite system of claim 1 further comprising: the server automaticallyproviding the user local banking services, for conducting banktransactions, with the user employing the corresponding mobile device ofthe user; the server automatically providing the user access to locallibrary services; and the server automatically prompting the user toretain membership in a current social network and associated socialgroups when the server detects that the new user has moved to a new cityor state.
 4. The social networking website system of claim 1 furthercomprising: the server assigning to social groups moderator accounts formembers who are moderators, technical assistance accounts for memberswho provide technical information, and expert accounts for members whocan provide advise.
 5. The social networking website system of claim 1further comprising: the server conducting registrations of a second newuser over a point-of-sale computing device wherein the point-of-salecomputing device communicates with the server information regarding thesecond new user; the server providing the second new user, in responseto the registration via the point-of-sale computing device, informationon contacts at local banks that lends funds, information on contacts atlocal insurance companies, information on contacts of local experts infarming, information on contacts of local meteorologists, information onlocal seed providers, information on local jobs and demands for localcontract labor, and information on local libraries; and the serverenabling the second new user to automatically gain access to, and beable to communicate with others in the region he can choose to interactwith, conduct business with, seek help from, and seek information from.6. The social networking website system of claim 1 further comprising: acontent provider server that delivers periodically market prices ofcommodities to members of a social group in a push mode.
 7. The socialnetworking website system of claim 1 further comprising: a locationchange manager that employs a location to social network mapping moduleto identify one or more social networks and their associated socialgroups for the user.
 8. The social networking website system of claim 1further comprising: a property management database that enablesgeneration and sharing of real estate property evaluation reportsassembled from various users.
 9. A mobile device that interacts with awebsite system that supports a plurality of social networks, the mobiledevice comprising: a processing circuitry and a communications circuit,the processing circuitry configured to interact with the website systememploying the communication circuitry using a client application so asto: receive automatic membership, without a need for invitation orregistration, to an online community of people who share their interestsand activities by interacting in an online social network; automaticallyinteract with the server as a new user in the social network based onthe current location information; and automatically provide access tocontacts of local businesses, local services and service providersanticipated to be of interest to the new user; the mobile deviceconducting registrations with the server via a point-of-sale computingdevice; the mobile device receiving from the server, in response to theregistration via the point-of-sale computing device, information oncontacts at local banks that lends funds, information on contacts atlocal insurance companies, information on contacts of local experts infarming, information on contacts of local meteorologists, information onlocal seed providers, information on local jobs and demands for localcontract labor, and information on local libraries; the clientapplication in the mobile device providing the new user automatic accessto local services; and the client application in the mobile devicefacilitating communication by the new user with others in the region hecan choose to interact with, conduct business with, seek help from, andseek information from.
 10. A social networking website systemcomprising: a server conducting automatic registrations of a first newuser over a point-of-sale computing device and automatically includingthe first new user in one or more groups of a new social network,wherein the point-of-sale computing device communicates with the serverby providing information regarding the first new user, the first user'smobile device number, and a first location information; the serverautomatically registering and including a second new user in a socialnetwork based on the current location information of the second newuser's mobile device; and the server automatically providing the firstnew user and the second new user information on contacts at local banksthat lends funds, information on contacts at local insurance companies,information on contacts of local experts in farming, information oncontacts of local meteorologists, information on local seed providers,information on local jobs and demands for local contract labor,information on local libraries, and information on local businesses. 11.The social networking website system of claim 10 further comprising: theserver provides automatic access to the first new user and the secondnew user to a plurality of social groups based on their respectivecurrent locations, and enables their interactions with others in theregion they choose to interact with, conduct business with, seek helpfrom, and seek information from.
 12. The social networking web sitesystem of claim 10 wherein the first new user and the second new usercan request and receive personal recommendations and introductions fromother members in the plurality of groups they are currently members in.